The Law: A Backlog for Lawyers

Coping with its own backlog, the Supreme Court also issued significant
decisions on the rights of suspects. PRELIMINARY HEARINGS. The fate of
a suspect may be shaped at a preliminary hearing, where a judge weighs
the available evidence in order to decide whether to hold or release
the accused. Last week the court ruled that suspects brought before
such preliminary hearings must have lawyers present.

Earlier rulings already entitle indigent suspects to court-appointed
lawyers at police interrogations and lineups. If lawyers are excluded,
the court has ruled, the defendant's remedy is clear: any evidence...